French Fleet in the Battle of the Capes

This 1782 map of the American and French victory over the British at Yorktown underscores the indispensable role of the French fleet in blocking the Chesapeake Bay and isolating the British army.

This 1782 map of the American and French victory over the British at Yorktown underscores the indispensable role of the French fleet in blocking the Chesapeake Bay and isolating the British army. (Courtesy of the Wooldridge Collection at The Mariners' Museum)

This 1782 map of the American and French victory over the British at Yorktown underscores the indispensable role of the French fleet in blocking the Chesapeake Bay and isolating the British army.